I burned sulfur for powdery mildew control and it killed everything.

[GordyBlue]

Hello all I'm new to this site. But not new to "this".

Recently, I ran out of the same bag of sulfur I've used for a couple of years. (This bag said 99.9% pure sulfur prills.)

So I went online and bought some from a big grow store . The product is from Sunlight Supply, 99% purity soil sulfur. This is sold next to the burners. When I burned it, everything died. And I mean everything. There was no "puck" left in the cup. Has anyone experienced this before?

 

[Trustfall]

Was the cup black when you went back in? Where the puck normally is?

 

[GordyBlue]

Hello Trustfall sorry for the delay and thanks for the reply. No oddly there was no puck at all left in the cup. And I stopped it early at about an hour. After I peeked in and saw a 10" flame coming from the cup and lots of weird smoke not the usual misty vapor of sulfur. Super scary and dangerous.

I think my explanation will be long and involved but truly I can't find too much information anywhere about this problem...

This is what happened. I ran out of my "old" bag of prills that I'd used for some years. So I bought a 2 lb. bag from a store we all know well online. As you know, when you burn sulfur there's a puck that's left over and you can keep using that puck. I've learned that only about a gram or two of the sulfur actually gets burned away in the 4 hour burn so you can imagine how long a 2 lb. bag of sulfur will last if you use it only now and then. What happened was...I just did it as usual. I had no idea the "new" sulfur was "bad". But I did peek in and there was a HUGE BLUE FLAME. I'd never seen that before. This was about 1 hour into the burn so I shut it down and waited. It was smoky in a bad way. And my poor, tall, vigorous gals suffered irreparable damage. I've used sulfur for decades. It's this sulfur that's the problem.

My first question should be has anyone bought Sunlight Supply 99.0% pure soil sulfur in the past few months? And if so have you used it?

I'm trying to determine if mine was just a weird batch. But I don't really see how it could be because it was in factory packaging. I called the store and as a good customer they seemed to believe me but then I looked online and instead of being able to put one bag into your shopping cart now you have to add six bags! How weird. I also reached out to Sunlight Supply (now owned by Scotts for $500M) and they denied it first, then transferred me, then never returned my calls or emails.

I'd like to hear from anyone who burns sulfur as a preventative.

After this happened I reached out to a sulfur specialist. He sells the 99.9999% (tests at 100 he said) to big business. Like semi-trucks full. I asked if I could buy it online and not really; he's been trying to get it on Amazon but he's being denied because sulfur is listed as a pesticide. (How can Sunlight Supply sell their trashy stuff...because they use the word "soil".) Oddly, soil sulfur doesn't even work that way...he said that trying to use "soil sulfur" to raise the pH of soil is ridiculous. It would need clay or another binder. And even then it would take decades to break down in the soil. I asked why are they selling it that way? He said it's a mystery to him. Sabotage? He said 1% doesn't seem like much but it means everything when it comes to purity of sulfur. He told me he's heard stories from California growers that they burned 99.4% sulfur and it left heavy residues and other problems. He said I was the first person to call and explain how the sulfur is burned.

So when burning sulfur use only the purest. 99.9%. Not 99.4 and not 99.0. Not pure enough. One more thing...if it smells like sulfur in the bag, it's wrong. Pure sulfur doesn't smell like sulfur! It's very faint and only smells when vaporizing it.

I can't find 99.9% purity online anymore. Go to a big grow store site you'll see the same 2 lb. or 4 lb. bag from Sunlight Supply. I reached out to both Sunlight Supply (recently sold to Scotts for $500M!) No call or email either.

 

[Dirtbag]

Sulfur burner shouldnt heat the cup up enough to ignite the sulfur. Any sulfur. I'd check the cup to make sure it doesnt have a pinhole in it from rust. Mine did that last grow, molten sulphur dripped on to the element and burned away. Damn near killed my plants but not quite.

 

[GordyBlue]

Sulfur burner shouldnt heat the cup up enough to ignite the sulfur. Any sulfur. I'd check the cup to make sure it doesnt have a pinhole in it from rust. Mine did that last grow, molten sulphur dripped on to the element and burned away. Damn near killed my plants but not quite.

Hi Dirtbag thanks for the reply but I assure you there is nothing wrong with my burner. And there is no pinhole. That's the first thing you'd look for is structural damage with the burner or the cup.

You're selling me short here bro do you think anyone would go on as I have if there was a simple solution here like a bad burner or a pinhole? But I do know what you're talking about and I've seen that too. Molten sulfur dripping from the bottom of the cup like hot wax that carries with it a flame that lands and ignites everything in it's path. Now that's some scary shit too!

It's definitely not the burner because although I didn't put this in the last post (it was already so lengthy) but I just used that same burner the other day. I dug through some boxes and found an old bag of sulfur (99.9% purity bought in 2008). Sulfur doesn't expire and the pucks can just be reused and/or topped off with new sulfur prills. (About the puck...freeze the cup and knock the puck out do not chip at it or you will cause a hole in the aluminum cup). Anyway, I did a four hour burn. Perfection...a fine mist everywhere. No flames. At the end of the burn there was still the large puck. All the gals like trumpets to the ceiling waiting for more!

So what I'm getting at is the sulfur being sold is bad! The impurities are making it ignite somehow. And leaves a heavy residue everywhere that smothers everything and will kill everything!

The expert on sulfur explained it to me as I said in my last post. My batch of bad sulfur burned up completely and it had a weird smell and was way too smoky. The expert says even .01% impurity can cause problems. So imagine a full 1% which is a hundred times worse! I dare anyone to buy that bag sulfur (see details below). It COULD be possible that it's just my bag but....

I made this post because I care about the person who uses it next and doesn't watch it like a hawk like I did. Right now people are buying this stuff and using it. This is not just some minor thing this can KILL. This can cause fire! Death! You get that thing too close to the ceiling or a tent my God it's over. Do some research online even rose gardeners are complaining about impure sulfur and the residue it leaves behind. And that's in outdoor greenhouses!

So I'll ask again...has anyone bought sulfur recently? And used it? Again, the product I used that seems to be everywhere is Sunlight Supply 2 lb. 99.0% purity soil sulfur. Also sold in 4 lb. At Growers House, Amazon, Hydrobuilder, on and on...

As I said in my last post when I called the store and warned them...I looked and saw that instead of removing it or investigating it (I suggested they burn it in a trial run) they made it so you have to buy SIX bags instead of ONE. Wow. They are just trying to get rid of it?

I think they put "soil sulfur" in there so they aren't liable. Again, the expert told me that "sulfur prills could never be used in soil" it doesn't break down as needed it doesn't change the pH it would need clay or another "carrier" and it would still take decades to made any difference in soil so that's just a big fat lie. Capitalism at its finest!

 

[MedicalHydroponics]

Purity is very Important in a burner,

Prill, pellets, or flakes are only for burners, from what I read. Needs to be 99.9% sulfur as well. I'm getting back into growing medical, gave my old burner away (Used pellets 99.9% pure sulfur). Bought a new sulfur burner last week, couldn't find the right sulfur to burn with.​

Came to this thread, thought I'd share.
I found this company..

High Purity Prill Sulfur, 99.9% Sulfur

We produce High Purity Prill sulfur at our Billings, Montana facility. All of our products are manufactured to the highest standard. Learn more.

montanasulphur.com

^Is this a good one?

 

[Dirtbag]

Purity is very Important in a burner,

Prill, pellets, or flakes are only for burners, from what I read. Needs to be 99.9% sulfur as well. I'm getting back into growing medical, gave my old burner away (Used pellets 99.9% pure sulfur). Bought a new sulfur burner last week, couldn't find the right sulfur to burn with.​

Came to this thread, thought I'd share.
I found this company..

High Purity Prill Sulfur, 99.9% Sulfur

We produce High Purity Prill sulfur at our Billings, Montana facility. All of our products are manufactured to the highest standard. Learn more.

montanasulphur.com

^Is this a good one?

Yes that's good sulphur. Most important is to not overheat it so it smokes, you just want to vape it.

 

[MedicalHydroponics]

Yes that's good sulphur. Most important is to not overheat it so it smokes, you just want to vape it.

The one I used takes 20-30min, just to get to proper temp. So run it 30min before lights out, no fans, And stay out of room til Morning time. Should use a mask when spraying.
Total run time 4-5 hours on a timer. 1 time per week in veg, 1st week in flower or 2nd week in flower max, in 100% sealed room. Sulfur sprays work great every 2 weeks but not in flower.

Amazon.com

^ This is the burner I picked up, It looks almost like my old one. Hope it works just as good.

 

[Dirtbag]

The one I used takes 20-30min, just to get to proper temp. So run it 30min before lights out, no fans, And stay out of room til Morning time. Should use a mask when spraying.
Total run time 4-5 hours on a timer. 1 time per week in veg, 1st week in flower or 2nd week in flower max, in 100% sealed room. Sulfur sprays work great every 2 weeks but not in flower.

Amazon.com

^ This is the burner I picked up, It looks almost like my old one. Hope it works just as good.

That's a Long burn time and kinda close to the lights on period, but would work well.

I won't turn mine on until its been dark for a good hr to ensure the plants are asleep, and I usually only burn for about 2-3hrs tops, just enough to get a good fog. Then I let that fog linger until an hr before lights come on. Make sure all air circulation fans are off and the room is completely still, and make sure to vent the air in the room before turning the lights back on.
Also turn off any dehumidifyers/AC etc during the burn, the sulphur builds up on condensation plates and makes them not work very well.

 

[MedicalHydroponics]

Great tips- turning off D/H'S and A/C, I'm guessing run time will amount to bugs or no bugs, and size of space.

Also where to hang, and how high. It's been 10+ years, starting back up. Just a little outdated on some things, trying to catch up. Thank you!

 

[Dirtbag]

Great tips- turning off D/H'S and A/C, I'm guessing run time will amount to bugs or no bugs, and size of space.

Also where to hang, and how high. It's been 10+ years, starting back up. Just a little outdated on some things, trying to catch up. Thank you!

For sure, times can vary a lot. For an infested room I'd burn every night for a week. For maintenance in a clean room, once every 5-7 days. And it depends on the cubic feet of space, I use one burner for every 1000 cubic feet, so a 10x10x10', and run each burner for minimum 2hrs, ideally once every 5 days.
Hang it in the center of the room 3-5 feet above the plants.

 

[MedicalHydroponics]

Just checked the instructions.
Very useful, going to laminate it.
They should have.. only use 99.9% sulfur pellets or prill in burner.

Going to pick up the prill next.

 

[MedicalHydroponics]

Just to update, I ordered elsewhere.. because they said they don't ship unless it's a huge order. Even talked with sales Zach I believe. Told me to talk with a supplier near me, didn't work out. Surfing the web some more found this company..

Concentrates, Inc.

Organic Agricultural Professionals Since 1938

concentratesnw.com

Very good prices btw.. Anyway I found and 2nd alternative I thought.
It was $24.00 for 50lbs of 99.9% sulfur pills for a burner. Shipping was $50.51!! but I got of searching and this will last a ton in the long run. And here is what I received, very tiny spillage, not sure if bag is supposed to be open like that.

Thought it was to be sealed. I duct taped it sealed now. It was smelly sulfur. And box looked like it got roughed up.

 

[Dirtbag]

That's the good stuff!

 

[MedicalHydroponics]

Can't find anything better anywhere.
Especially in the 99.9% sulfur for burners. Right products for the right tools.

 

[Stev3]

For sure, times can vary a lot. For an infested room I'd burn every night for a week. For maintenance in a clean room, once every 5-7 days. And it depends on the cubic feet of space, I use one burner for every 1000 cubic feet, so a 10x10x10', and run each burner for minimum 2hrs, ideally once every 5 days.
Hang it in the center of the room 3-5 feet above the plants.

Are you burning for bugs/mites or PM?

 

[Stev3]

Can't find anything better anywhere.
Especially in the 99.9% sulfur for burners. Right products for the right tools.

I tried burning "Soil Sulfur" and it would be black then I bought the same one you have and it would turn red. It turns into a yellow puck when it's not in use

 

[MedicalHydroponics]

I tried burning "Soil Sulfur" and it would be black then I bought the same one you have and it would turn red. It turns into a yellow puck when it's not in use

Make sure what you have is 99.9% pure sulfur. Anything else won't work and is not safe. Shouldn't be in room when sulfur is burning (WEARING THE RIGHT GEAR A MUST). It kills all bugs and works for PM, super safe for plants. Tried and true safer and cheaper than other alternatives.

Your IPM,.. it should be used before mold, once you have it, super hard to get rid of. I hear/see others using UVB UVA 3:1 bulbs for 2hours per light cycle. Supposedly helps plant heath a ton. Haven't used can't say for sure.

But it's on my Amazon list in a t5 bulb.

There's reason why AG buys sulfur by the train full.

 

[Stev3]

Make sure what you have is 99.9% pure sulfur. Anything else won't work and is not safe. Shouldn't be in room when sulfur is burning (WEARING THE RIGHT GEAR A MUST). It kills all bugs and works for PM, super safe for plants. Tried and true safer and cheaper than other alternatives.

Your IPM,.. it should be used before mold, once you have it, super hard to get rid of. I hear/see others using UVB UVA 3:1 bulbs for 2hours per light cycle. Supposedly helps plant heath a ton. Haven't used can't say for sure.

But it's on my Amazon list in a t5 bulb.

There's reason why AG buys sulfur by the train full.

Yeah I got the same one you have and from the same place about 2 weeks ago. I heard a lot of success stories.. I think I might have burned my plants by over doing it. I burned for 4 hrs in a 12x12 room twice in a 3 day period. I thought it was bug damage at first but everything happened pretty much overnight the day after I did a sulfur burn. It's the only thing that I could think of.

 

[stltoed]

Make sure what you have is 99.9% pure sulfur. Anything else won't work and is not safe. Shouldn't be in room when sulfur is burning (WEARING THE RIGHT GEAR A MUST). It kills all bugs and works for PM, super safe for plants. Tried and true safer and cheaper than other alternatives.

Your IPM,.. it should be used before mold, once you have it, super hard to get rid of. I hear/see others using UVB UVA 3:1 bulbs for 2hours per light cycle. Supposedly helps plant heath a ton. Haven't used can't say for sure.

But it's on my Amazon list in a t5 bulb.

There's reason why AG buys sulfur by the train full.

I made a CleanLight for PM a while ago. It's a UV light that operates in the C scale. I've actually never needed to use it, so I dont know if it works or not, I wasn't gonna pay $500 to find out, I I made minr